


Keep It Together

by a_space_pony



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Dialogue Heavy, Gen, Oneshot, sorry about that especially if i didn't get their characters right
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-12
Updated: 2016-09-12
Packaged: 2018-08-14 13:56:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 531
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8016670
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/a_space_pony/pseuds/a_space_pony
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's a bit more difficult than it sounds.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Keep It Together

_Keep it together, keep it together, keep it together…_ The words were a mantra in Lapis’ head. She could swear that sometimes the sentences would slip from her throat and Jasper would hear them, but she didn’t care. She didn’t have the time or effort to _care._

 _“Let me go!”_ screamed Jasper. _“We still have time! We can still—”_ A surge of pain rippled through her mind, leaving marks that she was sure were permanent, but it effectively quieted her for a minute.

 _“No! I’m not… letting you… go!”_ Lapis fought for breath, struggled for air that she didn’t really need. She could sense Jasper trying to wrestle away from her chains, but they tightly held onto the orange gem.

Lapis felt herself losing it. With a barely contained gasp, she pulled back control and waited for Jasper to compete again. Hours strolled by where nothing happened, where there were no conflicting powers, where Lapis let her guard _down._

And she regretted it when her chains broke.

 _“You think you can hold me? No one can hold me!”_ Jasper yelled victoriously, her body breaching the water that was Lapis’ subconscious. The blue gem cried out in shock and crippling agony as everything was ripped away from her, everything that was holding her together.

Everything that held together Malachite.

 _“You won’t escape me,”_ Lapis said quietly, sounding strained but confident in the statement. Hesitation crossed Jasper’s blue tinted features. In that moment, an understanding was met. And in that same moment, the understanding was thrown to the side and utterly destroyed.

 _“I’m going to find Rose! I’m going to make her pay!”_ Jasper’s voice—Jasper’s _words_ —sent off a fuse in Lapis. The explosion was instant, taking no longer than a second to blow Jasper out of the water, in more ways than one. Lapis' chains blasted out of the liquid ground, wrapping themselves around Jasper's frame and bringing her to her knees.

 _“You’re not going to hurt Steven.”_ Lapis’ voice was icier than the realm they were trapped in. And yet, Jasper wasn’t giving up. That made her angrier than anything else. _“Just stop!”_

 _“Why should I stop?”_ Jasper sharply inhaled, putting all of her strength into trying to get _free,_ free from the physical willpower that bound her. _“I have a mission that I’m going to finish!”_

 _“You don’t have to!”_ Lapis wanted to cry at how much she sounded like Steven. She could hear her words echoed in his voice and it only made her weaker with guilt and sadness. She hated Jasper for what she was making her go through. _“You can stop now. We can stay as Malachite forever,”_ Lapis pleaded. Her pleas went unheard.

_“Help me, Lapis! Help me destroy Rose’s gem, and then we can unfuse! I know you don’t like this form, but we need it!”_

_“Steven isn’t going to see you anymore. Steven isn’t going to worry about you anymore,”_ Lapis said, to Jasper and to herself. But she didn’t believe it. _Any_ of it. She needed to keep Malachite together, keep herself together, _keep it together,_ because if she didn’t…

_“You’re not keeping anyone safe. You can’t do this forever.”_

“I will.”

**Author's Note:**

> heyo what's up hi yeah um thanks for reading i guess bye?


End file.
